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An amazing stretch of 20 years has gone by since the
assassination of Dele Giwa. A damning
commentary on the state of affairs in Nigeria today, the man fingered in
his murder still walks free. He even now
dreams of becoming president again!
A most instructive comment on this unresolved murder comes
from Gani Fawehinmi in a TheNews (16
October 2005) interview: “Let me start by saying that I have no illusion, no
doubt, no pessimism about who killed Dele Giwa. Dele Giwa was murdered at the
instance of General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, no doubt about that.”
Dele Giwa was a colorful guy. He brought his own unique style and profile
to the practice of journalism in Nigeria. Journalism before Giwa was exciting, but he gave
it even more excitement. He dazzled us
with snazzy commentaries and vivid stories.
His boldness was legendary: he refused to bow to the military. He would not cover up governmental misdeeds
which made him a target of evil, power-drunk men.
His murder by letter bomb shook and shocked the nation into
a neurosis it may never recover from.
The news hit me like a punch in the stomach literally. At one of the gatherings right afterwards, I
remember speaking with Nduka Obaigbena, then of ThisWeek, warning him to watch his back. Driven by paranoia, the tension in the land
was tangible: I could almost reach into the air and touch it.
Everything seemed so pointless and such a waste to me then. My thinking then was: I have chosen to become
a journalist. But the message I was
getting from my country was that I had made a mistake. The message was write and die! Being a
journalist was worse than being a crook, so it seemed. Should I have become a drug dealer or an
embezzler instead? Would I have gotten
more respect or protection by joining the military and organizing successful
coups? My sense of dismay wasn’t helped
by the subsequent attempt to knock of my then boss at the African Concord, Lewis Obi who almost died after a ‘robbery’ attack.
Obi was one of the few editors around who had continued unrestrained reporting of the Giwa murder saga, especially the Gani
Fawehinmi-led series of litigations against IBB’s henchmen. I remember interacting with one of the
government lawyers in Lagos
State who gave me the
impression I was wasting my time and advised me to leave the country. He showed me documents he had prepared to
actually bring IBB’s men to trial, but he didn’t appear to hold much hope of that
ever happening.
Fawehinmi’s litigation was swept away when the Lagos State
military government changed the law allowing the right of private
prosecution. Guess who was military
governor then? That change put a stop to
any further private action. The military
government was sure enough not going to prosecute one of its own. I remember my angry confrontation with the Lagos state
attorney-general over the changed law, saying, in summary: the law of private
prosecution is there to protect even you when you get out of office in case a
government official kills you and government lawyers refuse to prosecute! Abuse of power is easy to condone or ignore until
we personally become the victims of such abuse.
During all the litigation drama and beyond, IBB continued
his reign of terror and rape of the Nigerian people, wasting the economy and
assaulting our sensibilities. Amply
generous with the people’s money and vicious in retribution, he disseminated
favors to his ardent supporters and brought destruction upon his harmless opponents. Nigeria was his personal
domain—there was a new sheriff in town, and he didn’t take no for an
answer.
Death and mayhem have been IBB’s legacy to this country:
from Dele Giwa’s murder to Abiola’s June 12 annulment, and down to Abacha’s
brutish rule. Now he would like to do us
these ‘favors’ again! How kind of him!
Gani Fawehinmi who faced unimaginable grief over attempts to
prosecute IBB’s men believes the former ruler cannot
escape justice for Giwa’s murder. And
indeed he cannot. The man may be
arrogant enough to believe he could though.
IBB should learn from Adolf Hitler who brought calamity on the world but
got consumed by his own handiwork.
By some trickery of manipulation he may
even escape man’s judgment in this lifetime, inconceivable as that may seem. Even if that happens, that won’t be the end
of the matter. IBB cannot escape God,
for as Hebrews 9:27 states: “. . . it is appointed for men to die once,
but after this the judgment . . .” There is a God who rules over the affairs
of men and who will ultimately judge everyone for everything done in this life.
Time is running out IBB: make peace with your Maker on this
and other atrocities. Please humble
yourself before God and genuinely repent while you still can! The end draws near for you as it did for Dele
Giwa, and as it will ultimately for us all. May God continue to hold and
strengthen Dele Giwa’s family! And may
God bring healing to an aggrieved nation over this death and many others since
then!
(fredlintaz@yahoo.com)
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Authors 
Posted by Robot| 18.10.2006 04:31